| June 21, 2004
Ask your veterinarian about... Drug ads target pet
lovers' emotions By REBECCA COOK
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) _ As a marketing executive, Marian Salzman knows she
shouldn't let the slick advertisements get to her.
But as the owner of two golden retrievers, she feels a twinge when she
sees a dog limp across her TV screen and hears, "Because the pain is
every day - ask your veterinarian about ..."
Once
the mangy mutt of the marketing world, ads for pet prescription drugs
now flaunt the sophistication of a purebred poodle. Drug companies are
chasing the success of Viagra, Allegra, Prilosec and other human drugs
whose aggressive marketing campaigns turned them into top sellers.
The
goal: fetch some of the $18 billion American households spend yearly on
veterinary expenses. More than 71 million households own a cat or dog,
and a growing number view pets as family members worthy of the best,
from health care to doggie spas and pet day care.
"Vets
have become like pediatricians," explained Salzman, executive vice
president and chief strategy officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide, an
advertising and marketing firm. She recently spent $800 on a thyroid
test to determine why her nine-year-old dog was losing weight. Her
company doesn't do pet drug ads, but she admires the craftsmanship.
"It
invents desire to keep pets healthy and it invents guilt, that maybe
other people are doing something for their pets that you're not,"
Salzman said.
Marketing experts and veterinarians agree, ads for pet drugs are
becoming harder to distinguish from the human version.
"They
are done in very similar fashion - it's still the guy in the sweat suit
running down the beach with the dog by his side. It's still the same
visual and message," said Rob Frankel, author of "The Revenge of Brand
X: How to Build a Big-Time Brand on the Web or Anywhere Else."
One
particular ad campaign stuck with Dolly Woerman of Seattle, who hurled
tennis balls for her athletic boxer Remo at a dog park one recent sunny
afternoon.
"There was a golden retriever sitting on the porch ... then it showed
him running through a field, acting like he was a puppy again," Woerman
recalled. "Oh yeah, if you're any kind of animal person at all, that's
what you want - to make them feel good."
The
ad, several years old, was for Rimadyl, an arthritis medicine for dogs.
Although the drug helped Woerman's previous dog, the campaign was almost
too successful for the manufacturer, Pfizer. The company pulled the ads
after the drug's widespread use revealed lethal side effects for some
breeds. Rimadyl remains one of the leading brands.
The
federal Food and Drug Administration regulates pet drugs the same as it
does human drugs. Any claims about what the drug does must include
warnings of possible side effects. Ads that simply state the drug's
name, along with an exhortation to ask your doctor or veterinarian about
it, can skip the risk warnings.
A
month-long ad campaign for Deramaxx, an arthritis medicine that competes
with Rimadyl, boosted sales 50 percent in May, according to senior
product manager Elaine May. "Ask your veterinarian" billboards plastered
the drug's name across Times Square and in dozens of cities.
Getting pet owners' attention is half the battle, said May, who works
for the drug company Novartis. And selling the brand is particularly
important with more pet owners buying discounted prescriptions online,
May said.
"They're getting more sophisticated. Because there are so many more
players, that raises the bar," May said of the evolution of the ads in
recent years. "They're using much more premium imagery, really working
on branding."
Pet
drug ads aim for the heart with all the subtlety of a Celine Dion
ballad. Even the most skeptical consumer might be moved to sniffles by
the Deramaxx ad that shows a dog staring forlornly up the stairs he can
no longer climb.
"It
has the potential to be very effective because people are very, very
close to their pets and they want their pets to be happy and
anxiety-free," said Larina Kase, a therapist at the University of
Pennsylvania's Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety.
Kase
sometimes has to rebuff requests from her human patients for mental
health medications for their pets.
"I
don't think your dog needs Prozac," Kase said. "He probably needs a
walk."
Veterinarians say pet drug ads make consumers more educated - and
sometimes more demanding.
"People are going to come in asking for Frontline (anti-flea
medication), Rimadyl, Deramaxx. Most of the time people know the names
of the product they want. It's certainly on the upswing," said Dennis
Feinberg, president of the American Animal Hospital Association.
Feinberg said the increasing brand-savviness means pet owners recognize
symptoms of illness sooner. But sometimes vets struggle to convince
people that the best-advertised drug isn't best for their pets.
"It's
bittersweet," he said.
On
the Net:
FDA's
Center for Veterinary Medicine: www.fda.gov/cvm/default.html
American Animal Hospital Association: www.aahanet.org
Rimadyl: www.rimadyl.com
Deramaxx: www.deramaxx.com |
